Our candidates know best, and they told us we were.

We are honored to receive the Glassdoor Best Place to Interview Award. Ranked 19 out of 100 companies, we are proud to know that our candidates had a positive experience when they began their journey with our organization.

“Our candidate experience is of paramount importance to us. We strive to ensure that all candidates begin to get to know Northwell, well before they set foot inside our doors. So being acknowledged as a great place to interview means that we are giving folks an early positive experience with us, one that sets the stage for them to be highly engaged and successful once they join our amazing team. Our employee promise states that we never settle, and always strive to be our best. Earning this special recognition means that we are continuing to push boundaries, and make people’s lives better.”

Want to know what our recruiters look for in candidates while they are interviewing? Take a look at their responses below!

What is your best advice for acing an interview?

Research. Research. Research. Find out as much as possible about the company, the interviewer, and anyone else that may be involved in the hiring decision. Doing your homework shows that you are prepared and actually care about the opportunity in front of you. And you never know what you may discover. Attending the same college as your potential new boss opens the door to great conversation! Always remember to be enthusiastic, engaged, inquisitive, and goal oriented.

When I am interviewing a candidate, I look for behavioral traits that stand out in a positive way. Candidates who are personable, enthusiastic, and know what they want and why they want it, these are the type of candidates that I am confident sending on hiring manager interviews.

What is your favorite interview question?

It’s very easy to answer this question with, “What are your strengths?”. But my favorite interview question is, “What are your weaknesses?”. Knowing what you need to improve on as an individual or as a professional shows great self-awareness. This also lets your prospective employer know what developmental opportunities may exist for you within the organization.

What do you look for in a candidate?

Someone that is overall passionate about what they do who are ready and eager to start a career with us and not just looking for a paycheck or job. We love candidates who can easily relate to others and who enjoy working with people on all levels. Don’t forget to mention the times you have gone above and beyond within your current and previous roles – we want to see you have heart and that you are willing to go the extra mile.

What do you wish candidates knew about Northwell Health?

Once hired there is so much room for growth and advancement. The managers and leadership are truly invested in your personal and professional growth. This is an employee friendly environment and we are always trying to come up with different ways to enhance the employee experience. There are so many different volunteer opportunities and events to participate in such as wellness programs, make a wish, concerts, etc. When interviewing, the Talent Acquisition Specialist that conducts the interviews are really down to earth and just want to know about your skills, experience and if this right fit for you, the department and the institution as a whole – so don’t be nervous. Think of the interview as a conversation. (Hint: We love to hear about your accomplishments and future goals)

More than coworkers – friends who were made for each other.

You know how sometimes you meet a person for the first time and you just click? That’s how it was for Erin Alesi and Josephine Corcoran. They met through a mutual friend when Erin started as a nurse at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). And even though they’ve never worked on the same unit together, they’ve built an amazing friendship over the years.

“One of the unique things about this hospital is that it’s not just a bunch of people working nine to five and going home. We’re family.”

–Erin Alesi, RN

Whether it’s scrubs or sweatpants, double-shift or day off, the best news of your life or the very worst, the people of SIUH are there for each other. They support and love one another through all the ups and downs of life. That’s why, when Josephine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, they were devastated. This was their sister who was hurting and in trouble.

Josephine had a long, hard battle ahead of her. Everyone wanted to do something to keep her spirits up as she went through an incredibly challenging time in her life. Her good friend Erin, had an idea for a fun way to encourage Josephine that would simply tell her that she can beat this and that everyone was behind her all the way. No matter what…don’t stop believin’. The video above is the result of this labor of love.

With lots of inflatable guitars and microphones – literally “air guitars” – they all rocked out and acted silly as they tried to encourage, lift up and make Josephine smile. It was a blessing for her friends to be able to do this for her. And it was a joy to watch everyone be truly together to make it all happen.

“Sure, it was a bit corny and silly but we just wanted Josephine to be able to smile again, to laugh at us and know that we were thinking and praying for her.”

–Erin Alesi, RN

Josephine is doing well and continuing to fight. Because we know that every moment matters, we hope that in some small way, we were able to show Josephine the same kind of compassion she shows to all around her. If you’re looking for a place where you can truly be yourself, where your coworkers are your family and where even the smallest gestures can change a life, you were Made for this.

A healthy employee is a happy employee. Did you know that each year we have Wellness Challenges for our employees to keep track of their personal health? These challenges involve tracking your healthy and unhealthy habits, reducing stress, or simply encouraging you to move around more. Last year at our annual employee barbeque our President and CEO, Michael J. Dowling, awarded prizes to the challenge winners who were all secretly hoping to win the grand prize, a trip to any one of our seven destination options, ranging from Peru to China to Thailand.

Last year alone, Mr. Dowling handed out 14 prizes to employees who completed all 3 challenges. One winner, Imee Sarmiento, recently took her trip to Rome with her husband. Wanting to get in on the fun, Imee’s sister Lulette (who also works for the health system) decided to plan a trip at the same time.

Throughout their trip, they got to visit many famous cities such as Florence and Siena, but one sight they didn’t expect to see under the Tuscan sun was former United States President Barak Obama and the Air Force One Leaving the Rome Airport.

“Winning this trip was an incredible experience! It was an enticing incentive for employees to promote health and wellness as well as encourage camaraderie amongst its employees,” said Imee. These sisters have been a part of our nursing family for 14 and 20 years respectively.

“We don’t really know any company that granted their employees any wellness challenges and incentives such as the experience we just had. It’s amazing and totally reinforced Northwell Health’s dedication to be a forefront in leading and promoting employee satisfaction,” said Lulette.

Here at Northwell Health, we are always looking out for the health of our employees. Our wellness initiatives not only allow our employees to maintain their health outside the workplace, but while working as well. Over the past few years, we have continued to put the health of our employees first by providing healthy food options at the cafeterias throughout our facilities and snack options in our vending machines. So far these challenges have helped hundreds of employees lose weight and change their lifestyle.

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We’re made for taking on challenges with innovative solutions.

The health care industry is going through its most dramatic change in history. Because caring runs through everything we do, we strive to stay a step ahead in defining the way care is delivered in these constantly changing times. When you combine this changing industry landscape with a critical shortage of nurses and other skilled clinical professionals, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education takes on a new and urgent priority.

We’re excited to be able to do our part to make a difference. Led by Cheryl Davidson, our Senior Director of Workforce Readiness, we’ve put a number of innovative STEM-focused initiatives in place. And our efforts are being recognized: we were just named a 2017-2018 STEM-Approved Employer by STEM Jobs. Here’s how we earned it.

Engaging students through STEM education.

For our current employees looking to shift their career priorities into the STEM world, we offer fellowships that enable them to learn and grow the skills and knowledge they need for these critical roles. Employees currently in STEM-related careers are also able to promote the importance of STEM education through our SPARK! Challenge. This year, we had employees from 53 Northwell Health departments contribute their time and expertise to the Challenge. Working closely with 700 local high school students they helped immerse these students in key positions throughout Northwell Health. Students then prepare presentations to share what they learned. The benefits are twofold. Students gain a greater appreciation for the wide range of opportunities within STEM fields while igniting a passion for taking on the educational challenges that will propel them forward in this exciting area. At the same time, our employees learn more about different professional areas they may not have thought about before.

Connecting classrooms to careers.

We’re proud to partner with Brookhaven National Laboratory to lead the Long Island STEM Hub, part of a national network of hubs promoting STEM careers. We pair industry partners with colleges and high schools to create pipelines for these high-growth fields, particularly in health care. Activities include:

Hosting annual forums – We bring healthcare providers together to speak on key topics (nursing, informatics, etc.) with the goal of encouraging students to pursue STEM education and careers. This creates a pool of candidates to benefit the entire healthcare industry.

Health Care Industry Council – We have established this council as a way for industry and education to share their respective needs and current trends so that they can develop strategies for mutually satisfying these needs.

Teacher Professional Development Day – These special events connect teachers with businesses to help these educators better plan and develop curricula that will prepare students for tomorrow’s STEM careers.

Advancing the underrepresented through STEM excellence.

We focus on diversity and inclusion, working with veterans, people with disabilities and others who may face unique challenges within the workplace. Since STEM-related careers are the fastest growing and most in-demand area of our economy, STEM education can provide a hand up to those in need. Our work in this area includes:

Strive – This organization prepares students and those returning to the workforce with additional assistance as well as opportunities to join FlexStaff, our in-house temporary agency.

Medical Office Assisting Program – We provide learning, assistance with certification and temporary opportunities as a way for people to get a foot in the door of a great career in health care.

Career Academy – We work to foster excellence in the “three Rs”:

Rigor – Aligning high school standards to college and workplace expectations

Relationships – Fostering interaction with lecturers, webinars, internships and more

If you’re passionate about advancing STEM education and think you’re made for an organization that is truly innovative and committed to going beyond the ordinary to advance health care, we’d love to hear from you.

Shawna Vernisie, Creative Art Therapist

Here at Northwell Health we are continuously encouraging our employees to be their best, and this week at our 11th Annual Presidents Awards Gala we honored those who aren’t satisfied with settling and are always pushing boundaries.

The annual President’s Award Program honors and celebrates individuals and teams who represent the very best of the organization. These employees surpass Northwell Health’s expectations, standards of excellence, and drive innovative business outcomes through three distinctive categories: Exceptional Patient/Customer Experience, Innovation and Teamwork. What makes this award special is that individuals or team are nominated by senior leadership for their contributions. Take a look at this year’s Exceptional Patient/Customer Experience award winner.

Shawna joined our Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Program at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in June 2013, but her story as a musician doesn’t start there. For Shawna, music began when she spent time in the NICU as a newborn and her parents sang to her. Shawna joined us in a part-time role, but as her talent became evident we worked to increase her to full-time status, which happened in 2015. She has blossomed, both as a healer and in her scope of work. In order to bring peace to those families whose children may be at the end of their journey, she creates songs for families using their child’s heartbeat – a beautiful tribute and lasting memory for parents whose time with their child was all too short. All within a year she has implemented a volunteer music program, implemented the use of heartbeat recordings, created a fieldwork placement for NYU’s music therapy students, and so much more.

The music Shawna creates and shares with our patients and families is the soundtrack to our Culture of C.A.R.E. We honor our President’s Awards winner for the difference she makes, the legacy she has helped to create, and for the way her talent sustains us all. Thank you for giving 100% of your heart to your work and the way you represent music therapy to us all.

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2017 President’s Awards Winner: Innovation

Huntington Hospital Oncology Unit 1 North

Here at Northwell Health we are continuously encouraging our employees to be their best, and last week at our 11th Annual Presidents Awards Gala we honored those who aren’t satisfied with settling and are always pushing boundaries.

The annual President’s Award Program honors and celebrates individuals and teams who represent the very best of the organization. These employees surpass Northwell Health’s expectations, standards of excellence, and drive innovative business outcomes through three distinctive categories: Exceptional Patient/Customer Experience, Innovation and Teamwork. What makes this award special is that individuals or team are nominated by senior leadership for their contributions. Take a look at this year’s Innovation award winner.

Pain can overwhelm our patients in ways we can’t imagine. Unmanaged pain can make other aspects of cancer more acute – fatigue, nausea, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety and confusion all have an impact. Being Truly Compassionate and helping our patients manage pain is at the heart of our practice. The team at Huntington Hospital created and combined multiple innovative strategies to improve pain management for oncology patients, creating a bundle which implemented best practice reliably and consistently for patients.

This team decided to utilize technology to the best of their ability and added a speed dial button on the back of the patient phone which immediately connects patients straight to their nurse, added a simple multi-alarm timers to their medication carts resetting them every time they make a pain intervention to remind them when to check back. On average, after 60 minutes, patients’ assessed pain has reduced from 48.2% to 36.8%. This is dramatically reducing the pain of oncology patients through redefining pain assessment and response. Wanting to take away our patients’ pain is the first instinct of any care-giver. That we can still innovate in this field is a remarkable tribute to a team who continually push the boundaries to redefine health care.

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2017 President’s Awards Winner: Teamwork

Monter-Vivo Concierge Pharmacy Service

Here at Northwell Health we are continuously encouraging our employees to be their best, and this week at our 11th Annual Presidents Awards Gala we honored those who aren’t satisfied with settling and are always pushing boundaries.

The annual President’s Award Program honors and celebrates individuals and teams who represent the very best of the organization. These employees surpass Northwell Health’s expectations, standards of excellence, and drive innovative business outcomes through three distinctive categories: Exceptional Patient/Customer Experience, Innovation and Teamwork.What makes this award special is that individuals or team are nominated by senior leadership for their contributions. Take a look at this year’s Teamwork award winner.

The team at Monter Cancer Center knew they could do better. The system was failing patients, so the system had to be changed. As we fight to cure cancer, treatment becomes more complex every year. We all know chemotherapy is tough on our patients and we welcome the recent explosion in oral chemotherapy medicine. Oral chemo drugs can cost thousands of dollars every year, which can leave our patients in a tough financial situation or without the proper medication that they need for weeks or even months.

Our team at Monter got together with Vivo Pharmacy to re-imagine pharmacy services, creating a concierge service for specialty oral cancer drugs, to be located right inside the Monter Cancer Center waiting room. Since December 2015 they’ve saved our patients over $1.73 million, and 98% of prescriptions are approved within 48 hours.

Nothing is more rewarding than making sure our patients get the medication they need, without financial stress. We salute our President’s Awards winners for their teamwork, for the way they came together to make a change, for never accepting an unacceptable situation. Thank you for saving lives, improving the quality of patient care and pushing the boundaries of health care every day.

Victory Greens, Lenox Hill Hospital’s rooftop garden, has recently opened for its 4th growing season

Written by: Pamela Johnson

What is Victory Greens?

Victory Greens, supported by both Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) Administration and the health system’s GreenBERG, is a rooftop garden created for everyone who works at LHH to enjoy. Last year, I was given the opportunity to manage the garden, which has been as great a pleasure for me as the success we’ve had for employees.

Over 18,000 visits were made to the garden by LHH employees last year, a significant increase over the prior year. Last year, we hosted 8 Snipping Events that were attended by over 600 employees. At the events, employees had the chance to take home fresh herbs and produce from the garden and learn how to use them in new recipes, drinks and more. One employee who had never cooked with fresh herbs was so inspired by the garden’s bounty that she changed her entire eating habits. She lost 30 pounds and was able to go off of her blood pressure medicine by the end of the snipping season.

This year we are expanding the Snipping Events to include an educational component. We’ll be hosting programs targeting Body, Mind, and Spirit as well as a program on Nutrition and Cooking and one on Exercise. We’ll also be having our first “Mobile Garden” this season, which will allow us to deliver “snippings” to our colleagues at off-site facilities so they may enjoy products from the garden.

Benefits of our rooftop garden- patients and employees

Recent scientific studies have shown that it is critical for a person’s mental and physical health and overall well-being to have at least one direct touch with nature/day. Victory Greens allows us to have a touch of nature, even on a rooftop in NYC.

After a hard shift or a long day, the garden offers employees a place of solace, rest and fresh air, which is important after working inside all day or night. The rooftop garden also presents a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow employees, many of whom would, otherwise, never come into contact with one another. Numerous friendships have been formed over lunch or catching sun rays in the garden. In fact, the garden affords the opportunity to touch everyone in the LHH community, including our patients. Herbs from the garden are used in patient meals as well as in the cafeteria and in the catered events we often host for guests.

Fun fact: There’s at least one species indigenous to every continent represented in the garden and nearly 100 varieties of plants, herbs, vegetables, and fruit are currently growing on the rooftop.

Giving back to our community

Victory Greens has also led to the development of a wonderful relationship with our Community Partner, Harlem Grown. Harlem Grown is an organization whose mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy, productive, fulfilling lives. Through mentorship and urban farming, Harlem Grown increases access to, and knowledge of, healthy food for Harlem residents and provides garden-based development programs to Harlem youth. Our relationship with Harlem Grown began last summer and our programs and connections continue to grow. We have held a number of highly successful outreach events with the Harlem Grown community, including hosting a Teaching Kitchen event which offered information about nutrition, healthy eating and growing herbs and our most recent event in recognition of Earth Day, where we helped children from PS 197 plant flowers around their school. A mix of employees from clinical to non-clinical volunteered to participate in these events and they all have said their experience was as rewarding for them as it was the kids.

How it’s impacted my life

Personally, Victory Greens has had a profound impact on my life. Through the garden, I’ve been able to connect with colleagues I never would have met. I’ve had the opportunity to make a deep commitment to the community around us as well as to make a sincere pledge to help preserve the environment. I’ve taken an active role in The GreenBERG, Northwell Health’s Business Employee Resource Group focused on environmentally conscientious initiatives. The mission of The GreenBERG is to improve the environmental impact of our facilities by advancing sustainable and socially responsible efforts across Northwell Health and in our communities.

From my involvement with Victory Greens and The GreenBERG, I’ve learned many things and have transformed my view of our planet. I now only wear clothing to work that is made out of sustainable materials, and I have developed a keen interest in trying to resolve recycling and other waste issues that plague hospitals. Who knows what solutions we may ultimately discover, but the magic of Victory Greens seems to be far reaching and highly impactful. Imagine…all that may, and all that has, come from an extraordinary rooftop garden at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Leading the transformation of health care – our people were made for this!

This is no time for “business as usual” or following the “status quo” or any other cliché you can think of. We’re defining the healthcare industry of tomorrow! That means we HAVE to think differently and deliver innovative solutions to achieve results we’ve never achieved before. To make our communities healthier, we’ll need to get out of our comfort zones as healthcare leaders. Above all, we need to drive nursing excellence through highly-engaged leaders.

That is exactly what happened at this year’s Nursing Leadership Retreat, “Beyond Boundaries: The Amazing Race to the 90th Percentile”. Held on May 15 and 16, approximately 220 nursing leaders – Nurses Executives, Nursing Directors, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Managers, and High Potential Bedside Nurses – attended the retreat. The goal – to take our engagement and satisfaction scores to the 90th percentile and beyond! You could tell from day one that things were going to be different.

On the first day, we broke from past retreats by engaging participants like never before with games, puzzles and even a scavenger hunt. The participants divided into teams and were asked to explore various companies in the Midtown Manhattan area. Each activity served to challenge the participants’ teamwork, communication, creativity, and awareness of their surroundings. The challenges focused on developing best practices for customer experience, employee engagement, quality standards, and identifying characteristics of the best places to work.

On the second day, we heard the insights of a wide variety of exceptional presenters, including Dr. Jim Merlino, formerly the Chief Patient Experience Officer at the Cleveland Clinic and presently the President & Chief Medical Officer of the Strategic Consulting Division at Press Ganey. Dr. Merlino shared his strategies and experiences regarding how to lead an organization in patient experience. He also included Northwell Health specific recommendations in his discussion based on his knowledge of the health system’s Press Ganey performance.

Dr. Jim Merlino, formerly the Chief Patient Experience Officer at the Cleveland Clinic and presently the President & Chief Medical Officer of the Strategic Consulting Division at Press Ganey. Dr. Merlino shared his strategies and experiences regarding how to lead an organization in patient experience. He also included Northwell Health specific recommendations in his discussion based on his knowledge of the health system’s Press Ganey performance.

Darren Williams, of the Barry Wehmiller Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek who presented on “Finding the CEO in Yourself” and developing the leader in others. They explored who to find fulfillment in watching others actualize their fullest potential.

As we move forward, we identified a number of topics to focus on in our efforts to remain at the forefront of the healthcare field:

The future of health care on a national and local level:

External factors that will influence/effect Northwell Health such as competition, the economy and the ACA

Strategies for addressing these external factors:

The role of Nursing in meeting the strategic vision of the health system

At Northwell Health, we’re revolutionizing every area of health care. If you have a pioneering spirit and a forward-looking attitude, you were made for this. Come be part of it and learn more here.

“If you want to accomplish something, you have to believe it’s always possible.” – Maureen White

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We’re Truly Ourselves and it makes us stronger.

At Northwell Health, understanding and respecting the values and backgrounds of our patients and employees leads to more open communication, an enhanced patient experience, and improved health outcomes. This is why we continually provide an accepting, welcoming and supportive setting for all – especially those within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community.

“As an ally of the LGBTQ community, it’s wonderful to work for an organization that is dedicated, passionate and committed to promoting health equity. I am thankful to have EXPRESSIONS as a business employee resource group where I can give my time outside of my normal job function to do this!” –Patricia McColley, Community Relations, Northwell Health

For the fifth consecutive year, DiversityInc has ranked us as one of the top 12 Hospitals and Health Systems in the nation for diversity and inclusion. We also continue to be recognized as a leader in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Healthcare Equality Index.

Engaging our employees.

We’re pleased to be able to foster and promote EXPRESSIONS, a Northwell Health Business Employee Resource Group (BERG). EXPRESSIONS is comprised of employees who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) or who are allies of the LGBTQ community. Through this group, these individuals are able to express their passion for promoting health equity and awareness in a number of ways within the community.

“Over the years, I have gone from being afraid to go to school or work openly to recently marching with Gov. Cuomo down Fifth Avenue with my husband. It is great to work for an organization where I can bring my whole self to work, feel included, and can promote health services within the LGBTQ community. It is gratifying that at our workplace we all feel comfortable and can work together to make sure that everyone feels welcome.” –Bill Self, Director, Health Sciences Library, Lenox Hill Hospital

Partnering with our community.

We will be taking part in a number of community activities during Pride Month, stop by and say hi, we’d love to meet you.

June 9-11th: Long Island Pride Festival in partnership with the LGBT Network of Long Island

June 17: Employee seating area at Citi Field on the 2nd annual pride night.

June 25: NYC Pride Parade with Lenox Health Greenwich Village.

We recently purchased an immediate care clinic in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, one of the most popular LGBTQ accepting resort communities in the United States. This clinic will enable us to provide immediate/urgent care to the summer residents of the island. We are also a committed partner to these local community organizations:

The LGBT Network, Long Island

Long Island Crisis Center, Long Island

Pride For Youth, Long Island

The LGBT Community Center, Greenwich Village

Caring for the transgender community.

To accommodate patients of all ages and at all stages of the transitioning process, we provide a wide variety of transgender healthcare services in New York City and Long Island, including:

Primary and preventative care

Hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers

Surgical specialty care for gender-affirming surgery

HIV prevent (PrEP) and HIV treatment

Screening for sexually transmitted infections

Mental health care

Immunizations

Healthy and sexuality education

Risk reduction counseling

Referral services

At Northwell Health we live by our value Truly Ourselves. We stand united, proud and respectful, always celebrating
our differences. This and every month we stand proudly with our LGBTQ community and celebrate.